Saturday, December 17, 2011

Why, hundreds of years after it was legally abolished, does slavery persist? The last episode of Slavery: A 21st Century Evil is a televised debate in which this question, among others, was posed to a panel of those who direct or seek to influence government policies on slavery across the world.

The debate was held at Decatur House on Washington's Lafayette Square - the site of the only remaining physical evidence that African Americans were once held in bondage within sight of the White House - as an iconic venue for the debate on a trade that refuses to die.

Moderator Rageh Omaar was joined by: Luis C d'Baca from the US State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; Kevin Bales, the president of Free the Slaves; David Batstone, the president of Not for Sale; and Joy Ezeilo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh says if a bill is tabled, the BN government will get the full backing of Pakatan Rakyat.

GEORGE TOWN: The DAP today called on the Najib administration to amend the Federal Constitution to ban party hopping by elected representatives.

Its chairman Karpal Singh said Barisan Nasional government should table an emergency parliamentary bill soon to amend the constitution.

“It should be done before the next general election,” Karpal told newsmen during his weekly Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency visit here today.

He said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak can count on the Pakatan Rakyat support for the amendment.

He said Najib should not be worried about not securing a two-thirds majority needed to make a constitutional amendment.

He said the Pakatan MPs would surely back Najib’s administration on the amendment, which would eventually flush out selfish politicians.

The amendment will have to done on Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which allows citizens freedom of association.

Many elected representatives are pointing to the article to justify their defections over the years.

Karpal, a lawyer by profession, indicated that only a constitutional amendment can once and for all put an end to party hopping by elected representatives.

The amendment would pave way for the parliament and state governments to legislate anti-hopping laws.

Karpal was referring to a Gerakan suggestion to ban party hopping made during a public hearing by the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms here yesterday.

The hearing was chaired by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Maximus Ongkili.

Power in the hands of voters

Penang Gerakan legal and human rights bureau head Baljit Singh had told the committee that it would reduce politicking and avoid political uncertainties.

He particularly referred to the PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim’s Sept 16 fiasco and Perak government coup by BN via defections by Pakatan elected representatives that led to a constitutional crisis in 2009.

Gerakan proposal was to have elected seats automatically vacant when the representative quits his or her party.

It is to ensure that the right to choose a government remains in the hands of the voters.

A by-election shall be held to uphold the constituents to elect their legitimate representative.

“This would reduce politicking where the government can fully focus on running the country to avoid uncertainties,” Baljit told the committee.

Gerakan’s other proposals were on use of indelible ink during voting, automatic registration for voters above 21 years of age and deletion for deaths

Karpal said the DAP, the country’s single largest parliamentary opposition party, had always despised party hopping.

He said defecting elected representatives have actually betrayed the trust of their constituents.

“The DAP wants the amendment bill to be tabled soon,” he said.

Karpal said Malaysia should emulate other Commonwealth countries like India and Singapore, which already legislated anti-hopping laws to curb politicians switching sides .

The DAP calls Perkasa's objection in removing the Interlok novel from schools as 'weird logic'

GEORGE TOWN: The DAP said that they could not understand Perkasa’s weird logic in going against the decision to remove the controversial Interlok novel from schools.

Its national chairman Karpal Singh said it was the Cabinet’s responsibility to ‘correct all wrongs’ in its system of governance that affects the people.

“It’s wrong for an extremist organisation like Perkasa to criticise the government decision to remove the Interlok novel.

“Indeed the book should be banned altogether across the country,” he told reporters in Air Itam here today.He also called on the novel’s author, national laureate Abdullah Hussain to apologise to all Malaysian Indians for the racially insensitive contents in the book.

In a SMS statement last night, Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali said the group was very angry with MIC president G Palanivel over the withdrawal of the Form 5 literature text.

He expressed Perkasa’s disappointment and regrets over the government decision.

“The government is too weak and has failed to withstand pressure from a minority group that is big headed. Perkasa is aware of MIC’s need to bank on the Indian vote for the GE13.

“This is very insolent. Because of the Indian vote, the dignity of a Malay writer is being insulted,” said Syed Hassan.

Karpal called Syed Hassan’s views as “weird logic “

The Bukit Gelugor MP instead called on for a total ban on the novel for it contained racial slurs insulting the Indian community.

“The novel should be removed from all libraries and book stores.It should be banished from public view,” insisted Karpal.

The novel was made compulsory reading for Form Five students this year as part of the Malay Literature subject in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Putrajaya.

The novel chronicled the daily lives and struggles of three families – a Malay, Chinese and Indian during pre-independence Malaya and their contributions to the formation of the country.

But the novel sparked an outrage, especially from Indians, against several racially offensive words such as ‘India Pariah’, ‘Melayu Malas’, ‘Cina Kuai’, ‘perempuan totok’, ‘babi’ and ‘syaitan putih’.

The book was also criticised for portraying unhealthy elements such as pre-marital cohabitation, infidelity, spirit worship, trading in humans.

Under the law civil proceedings can commence only after the criminal proceedings have been completed in its entirety.

GEORGE TOWN: Senior lawyer Karpal Singh today called on the Attorney-General Chambers to hasten the conclusion of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

He is frustrated over the prolonged delay of appeal process by the two former police personnel, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri 34, and Corporal Sirul Azhar, 39, who were convicted for Altantuya’s murder five years ago.

Their appeal is up for case management in Court of Appeal on Feb 10 next year and could even end up in the Federal Court.

Altantuya father Setev Shaariibuu has filed a suit on June 4, 2007 against the Malaysian government and those responsible for the gruesome murder of his daughter.

Karpal is representing Setev in the civil case on a pro-bono basis.

He had also held watching brief for the late Altantuya family and the Mongolian government during the murder trial.

Under the law, the Setev’s civil proceedings can commence only after the criminal proceedings have been completed in its entirety.

“I appeal to the AG to quicken the appeal process to enable the civil case to began soon,” Karpal, the DAP national chairman, told newsmen during his visit Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency here today.

After a long hiatus, early this year Setev has appealed to the Malaysian courts to hasten the hearing of the RM100 million civil suit he has filed against the government.

He said he has paid a substantial amount of money, RM60,000 as security bond to the Malaysian court last year.

Azilah and Sirul were sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court on April 9, 2009

after being found guilty for Altantuya murder at Mukim Bukit Raja between 9.45pm on Oct 18, 2006, and 9.45pm the next day.

Their trial which commenced on April 9, 2007 and lasted for 159 days.

The duo, commandos with the elite Special Action Squad, subsequently filed their appeals to the appellate court.

The five said Ramasamy should emulate his boss, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng successful suit against Utusan Malaysia, by initiating civil court proceedings against Makkal Osai.

They were referring to the Makkal Osai’s retraction on Wednesday Dec 14 against its own Nov 28 report of Ramasamy’s premature announcement on party candidature.

“This is wrong (news). We would like to bring to the attention of DAP leadership that Ramasamy never provided such a news to our daily”, wrote the editor of Makkal Osai in the retraction note.

The five argued that although Makkal Osai retraction was 15 days too late because the damage was already done.”

“The retraction is only a damage control. Makkal Osai has already committed a crime here,” they pointed out.

The five said Makkal Osai false report on Nov 28 had caused an internal ruckus, friction among leaders, tarnished the image and caused irreparable damage to the party.

They said Makkal Osai must be held accountable for embarrassing DAP, Ramasamy and party national chairman Karpal Singh.

In its Nov 28 article, Makkal Osai quoted Ramasamy to have announced that DAP had decided to field three Indian women – D Kamache, P Kasturi (daughter of the late DAP stalwart P Patto), and an unknown lawyer from Penang, K Mangaleswari, in the next general election.

A tiny but enthusiastic film industry is making waves in India and survives on shoestring budgets with minimal equipment.
FEATURE

By Ammu Kannampilly

RANCHI: In one of India’s poorest, most violence-wracked states, being a movie star means doing your own make-up in a car mirror and then dancing to a soundtrack from a mobile phone.

Los Angeles has Hollywood, Mumbai has Bollywood – and then there’s Jhollywood, a tiny but enthusiastic film industry in the eastern state of Jharkhand.

“This is the biggest problem of working in our movies, you have to do everything yourself… apply your own makeup, supply your own costumes,” Jhollywood’s leading female star Varsha Lakra grumbles with a smile.

On a sunny Sunday morning in Ranchi, the scruffy state capital, Lakra, 24, is on location at her latest shoot.

She sits in her small car, applying pink eyeshadow, eye-liner, layers of foundation and powder as the traffic whizzes past.

“Our films are made keeping our culture in mind and our culture is not that glamorous,” she admits. “We show our villages and how, as Jharkhand develops, people are leaving the villages to go work in towns.”

“Jhollywood” prides itself on telling the stories of the state’s low-caste and tribal people, making movies on shoestring budgets with minimal equipment.

Producers raise capital by cashing in anything from parcels of land to cars, and some of the film industry’s key players are shopkeepers who have day jobs selling mobile phones and CDs.

Jhollywood’s stars may have lives far different from Bollywood’s adored big-name screen legends, but they are hugely popular in the state.

Fighting to stay afloat

Lakra and her actor husband Monuraj, 25, are household names, and are regularly mobbed by fans.

“Recently I was out with my family and some village women saw me. They just grabbed me, and wouldn’t let go. They kept saying, you must come to our home for a meal,” she says, smiling at the memory.

With limited funds and few cinema owners willing to screen Jhollywood over Bollywood fare, however, the industry – barely two decades old – is fighting to stay afloat.

Lakra, who said she earns up to 30,000 rupees (US$600) per film, does not let such grave concerns get in the way of her art as she starts shooting a song against a backdrop of wooded hills.

As butterflies flit around, she improvises the choreography while one of the crew members holds up a cheap mobile phone playing the soundtrack.

Jhollywood films often follow the same basic plotlines as Bollywood, featuring a dash of romance, a few fight scenes and multiple musical sequences.

Lakra’s most recent release, “Karma” was a saga about a villager who avenges the murder of his sister’s boyfriend.

But, unlike Bollywood, most Jhollywood productions are shot on digital video and in the local languages of Sadri, Nagpuri and Santhali.

Lakra told AFP she began working at 15, when a local composer asked her to act in a music video.

Tiny budgets

Now, with four films released and five more on the way, Lakra says she hopes to move up to a Bollywood project some day.

She admits to waiting outside Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s home in Mumbai for hours, just to catch a glimpse of him.

“Bollywood is like an ocean compared to us. Even if I get a small role there, I will go ahead with it for sure,” she says.

The first Jhollywood film, “Sona kar Nagpur” (Golden Nagpur) was released in 1992 and director Dhananjay Nath Tiwari did so many jobs that his name appeared a reported 13 times in the credits.

Tiwari sold some land to make the film and, once it was ready, he went from village to village putting up tents to show the movie.

Not much has changed since then.

Filmmaking budgets are tiny, usually between 250,000 and 500,000 rupees (less than US$6,000). The last few years have seen just three Jhollywood films released annually.

“There isn’t much money so sometimes you just have to make do with what you have,” Ranchi-based filmmaker Anil Sikdar told AFP.

“It’s like you need an elephant for a sequence, but you can’t find one, so someone suggests getting a horse, but then you can’t find a horse, so what do you do? You use a dog,” he said, laughing.

Piracy racket

Sikdar’s latest venture, “Jharkhand ka Chhaila” (The Boy From Jharkhand) attracted good audiences last year in local cinemas – though no official figures are available – but he was still unable to recover its costs.

His situation is not unusual – in the last 19 years, only one Jhollywood production is thought to have broken even, meaning film-making is a costly labour of love.

And fear of violence by left-wing Maoist insurgents is another problem as villagers are reluctant to make the trip to city cinemas after sunset.

“They are afraid to go on the roads. If they do go out, then they will get stopped by the police and questioned. So why would anyone take the risk?” Sikdar said.

A thriving piracy racket also means that the market is flooded with fake copies just days after the original film is released.

Such difficulties mean that the harsh realities of film-making are testing the dedication of even the keenest Jhollywood insider.

Producer Shahid Akhter, who runs a music shop in Ranchi, said he was ready to quit the film business after the failure of his second venture, “Pyaar kar Sapna” (Love’s Dream) earlier this year.

“I have lost the strength to make a third film. I think it might be time to start selling electronic goods instead. I have to keep my family going.”

Environmentalists accuse timber company of cutting old-growth timber
A unit of Ta Ann Group Bhd, a Sarawak-based timber giant closely
linked to Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, is being accused by
an Australian lawmaker of invading a protected 430,000-hectare Tasmanian
forest that was supposed to be protected by a national-state
intergovernment agreement.

Tasmanian Sen. Bob Brown, the leader of Australia’s Greens, said that
although the governments had signed an agreement earlier this year to
protect the forests until an independent verification process was
completed, Ta Ann had already begun logging.

“Four months later not one hectare has been protected and Forestry
Tasmania continues to fell these magnificent trees as fast as they can
put the roads in. All up, more than 10 square kilometers of our wild
forests will be destroyed,” Brown said.

In an effort to stop the logging, a young woman name Miranda Gibson
climbed into a structure high above the forest with a vow to sit there
to stop the logging, which began last Monday.

That is the latest protest against the company, which has been operating
in Tasmania for some time, ostensibly receiving A$10 million in direct
public subsidies and being housed in Tasmanian state premises that cost
A$22 million. Ta Ann Tasmania has reported net losses of A$18 million
although the parent company declared a 25 percent profit margin on
annual sales of more than RN800 million.

Ta Ann Holdings Bhd, headed by Taib’s cousin Hamed Sepawi, is comprised
of at least 31 Sarawak-based companies in three broad sections including
timber harvesting, palm oil plantations and various other interests.
The company, with a market capitalization of RM1.24 billion (US$388.6
million), employs 6,000 people and began expanding overseas n 2007,
according to the group’s website.

Taib himself is under fire from a plethora of NGOs from six different
countries demanding that he and 13 members of his family be arrested and
prosecuted for massive fraud, theft, corruption, illegal appropriation
of land and abuse of public office and that he is at the epicenter of
the operations despite the naming of family members to head ancillary
operations. They allege that the looting of Sarawak’s rich timber and
other natural resources has earned Taib’s family billions of US dollars
through investment in as many as 400 companies in 25 countries.

Research released earlier this month by the Switzerland-based Bruno
Manser Fund said official documents show the Taib family stake in 14
Malaysian companies alone is worth US$1.46 billion. The fund has
uploaded all of the documents onto the Internet. They can be found here. Billions more are believed to be held in other countries.

Environmentalists accuse the Tasmanian unit of claiming it exports
rotary peeled veneer manufactured only from regrowth and plantation
Eucalyptus logs supplied by Forestry Tasmania. However, the
environmentalists say, “the reality is that Ta Ann is sourcing timber
from Tasmanian old growth forests, from world heritage value and high
conservation value forests.”

“Ta Ann’s demand for native forest wood and its large wood supply
contract is driving logging in some of Tasmania’s most important and
contentious forest areas,” the environmental group said in a statement.
“Logging for Ta Ann is also breeching the current Intergovernmental
Agreement between the Australian and Tasmanian governments which has
demanded logging be stopped in 430,000 hectares of high conservation
value forests. Ta Ann’s operations here in Tasmania are far from
eco-friendly and must rank amongst the worst logging practices
globally,” said Jenny Weber, a member of the Huon organization.

Global Witness, an environmental NGO, in 2010 accused Ta Ann of
clear-cutting vast amounts of Orangutan habitat. Ta Ann holds five
timber concessions in Sarawak covering more than 360,000 hectares of
rainforest and three plantation licenses covering another 313,000
hectares.

The Sarawak Report, an NGO that has been investigating Taib family
interests for months, said Sarawak “is notorious for its destruction of
the Borneo jungle.” It said Ta Ann’s attempts to brand itself as
“environmentally conscious” were a sham and that “None of the wood that
Ta Ann has so far used from Tasmania qualifies as sustainable.”

In fact, the Sarawak Report said, “all of the logs so far taken by the
company have come from old growth forests, many in high conservation
value areas that form crucial habitats for some of the world’s most
endangered species. These include Tasmania’s Wedge Tailed Eagle, the
Quoll and the Tasmanian Devil. And no plantation wood is being used by
Ta Ann in its veneer processing mills in Tasmania.”

Brown, in a prepared release, said the Australian and Tasmanian
governments are taking too long to implement the intergovernmental
agreement.

“If they can get their act together to offer contractors exit packages
then they can honor the conservation agreement as well." He added.

Najib said the initiative would also help the country tackle its food import deficit.

"At the moment we are exporting RM18 billion worth of food products a
year but our import is RM30 billion. We are faced with a huge deficit;
so MyAgrosis will help us patch it up with new approaches," he said when
launching the club and declaring open the Youth and Graduate
Entrepreneurs Gathering at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Merbok,
near here.

He said that an increase in food production would shield the people from being burdened by the high cost of living.

"The high cost of living is due to the cost of foodstuff. So the best
way to ease the burden is to increase the food production in the
country," he said.

The prime minister also announced an allocation of RM30 million to help the MyAgrosis programme.

Of the total, RM10 million will be for Agrobank to provide
guarantor-free loan scheme to MyAgrosis members with a ceiling amount of
RM30,000 to venture into agro-businesses.

The rest of the amount will be allocated to Tekun Nasional and the
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, with an allocation of RM10
million each.

Tekun will provide funds for MyAgrosis participants while the ministry
will provide facilities for MyAgrosis programmes such as hydroponics and
water supply systems.

The new allocation for Agrobank brings the bank's total fund for the programme to RM20 million.

Najib said the provision of the funds marked the government's total support for MyAgrosis.

Speaking to reporters later, Najib said MyAgrosis fulfilled various
criteria including bringing together two ministries -- the Agriculture
and Agro-based Industry Ministry and Higher Education Ministry -- to
collaborate in the country's agriculture development sector.

"It also exposes graduates to the sector in its new paradigm, that is,
agriculture as a business model as well as a business concept.

"It will also increase the country's agricultural productivity and put
in place more agro-bazaar networks where food products are sold at a
reasonable price," he said.

Najib said universities had vast tract of unused land which can be optimised through the MyAgrosis programme.

by Mathias Hariyadi
The act of vandalism occurred last night in Sendag Prawito (Semarang
Archdiocese), in a small chapel devoted to Our Lady. A cross was also
stolen and some religious objects were destroyed. The archbishop demands
Christians be protected during the Christmas period.

Semarang
(AsiaNews) – Last night, vandals decapitated the statue of the Virgin
Mary in a small grotto in Sendag Prawito, Tawangmangu, Semarang
Archdiocese (Central Java). A cross was stolen and the aspersorium was
badly damaged.

“Security Forces must do their duty without showing any preference for
Muslims or Christians in a religiously pluralistic country based on the
principles of Pancasila, which are still the foundations on which the
nation is built,” the prelate said in an appeal to local authorities to
provide Christians with security during the Christmas period.

In recent years, Christmas has seen several attacks against Indonesia’s
Christian communities. In 2000, a series of bombings killed 19 people
during Christmas week. On 31 December 2005, seven people died in an
attack against a market in a Christian section of Palu (Sulawesi).

In both cases, Jemaah Islamyah, which is linked to al Qaeda, was blamed.

The Hare Krishna temple in Western Copenhagen was recently assaulted
by a group of young Muslims, throwing stones and breaking windows. To
diminish the risk of confrontations with the Muslim-dominated
neighbourhood, the devotees of the temple are from now on requested to
not wear their characteristic clothes outside the temple, in order to
not provoke similar attacks in the future. Below is the original account
of the attacks.
Danish police took a report of the assaults. (Note: Whitespace added for clarity. Original spelling preserved.)Dear devotees,
On 6.12.,20.45 the temple in Copenhagen was attacked by a group of gundas with obviously Muslim background. First stones were thrown against the front of the residential temple building, then the window in the mathaji asrama got broken.[TK], the temple president, called police instantly. A single police officer arived, took notice of the dammage and left again.
Half an hour later a bigger group of the same attackers arived, again
throwing stones, entering the garden, braking this time windows in the
Tulasi room, all the bottom windows facing the street. Finaly they tried
to brake into the house, seeking direct physical conflict.
It didnt took long to find out the possible background of this attack.

(The temple was never exposed to such an incident before).
The same day two devotees, one of them living directly in the temple
and the other outside, were biking closeby when they met on the street a
car standing with open door. One passed, the other got blocked by the
open door and complained. According to the statement of one of them he
was directly attacked by the driver with a tool fetched from the car and
as the other one came to his rescue, a fist fight started. Devotees
sustained minor injuries. Finaly police arived at the scene and took
record of the incident.
As the temple is located in a close Muslim neighbourhood, featuring a
Muslim school, etc., it is quite possible that these two incidents are
related. The police didnt make sofar this connection,but its obvious.
As matter of fact the involvement of the police was minimal sofar, it
took them more a half an hour to arive and after the second attack they
didnt come at all. If the attackers would manage to brake into the
house, somebody could have been kiled as they were armed with baseball clubs and other weapons.
As seeing from the window, most of them could have been even less as 18
years old and some of them couldnt even speak proper denish.
It can be only hoped that this incident was an act of momentarily
rage and will not spark a long term enmity and chain of attacks from the
local Muslim community. To find the leader of the gang and try to
communicate with him is hardly possible. We cannot expect any protection
from the police and so once again we are fully depending on the mercy
of Sri Sri Goura Nitai and Lord Nrsimhadeva.
Your servant [MD]
P.S. Please, if possible, lets help [TKP] as he will have to deal now
with further police investigation, the insurance company and the
repairs following this attack.
Further on devotees are requested to change possibly their devotee
dress after leaving the temple property, as being seen in the vaisnava
dress they may provoke in an uncontroled manner attacks from the local
Muslims while walkig on the street. Incidents of this nature do happen.
Even this one is based on individual improper behaviour of both parties,
the driver and the devotees, the final attack was issued against
anybody who could be identified as the memmber of the Hare Krsna
movement. Lets hope these attacks will not escalate. Sofar nobody got
injured, but it was a close call indeed.

KUALA
LUMPUR, Dec 16 — The police said today reports that Malaysia lost RM150
billion in illicit outflows in 2009 was “not something new” and it has
been freezing assets of organised crime and drug rings to tackle the
problem.
Washington-based watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reported
yesterday that Malaysia’s outflow of illegal money topped RM1 trillion
in the decade up to 2009.
But Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar (picture)
said “money laundering is not something new and police have been
regularly acting against organised crime members and drug syndicates.”
“In many drug cases, the suspect’s background and financial standing
is investigated thoroughly and police have forfeited property to seize
the ill-gotten gains,” the police chief told reporters today.
GFI said yesterday Malaysia lost RM150 billion in illicit outflows in 2009, the fourth highest in the developing world.
In March, Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the
Money Business Services Act would be tabled this year to enable the
central bank to address the outflow of funds from the country.
The law came into force on December 1.
The new law supports the development of a more dynamic, competitive
and professional money services business industry, while strengthening
safeguards against money laundering, terrorist financing and illegal
activities, according to Bank Negara.
The Finance Ministry had said early this year that Bank Negara was investigating the matter.
But the central bank has yet to make any statement on the progress of its investigations despite GFI offering its assistance.

“Its cause is noble and easily understood and cuts across racial, religious, gender and other divides.”

INTERVIEW

By Celine BoileauAs reverberations from Bersih 2.0’s call for free and fair elections
reach beyond Malaysia’s borders, so has the popularity of the
organisation’s prime mover, S Ambiga.
A month after the July rally, she was enthusiastically received in
London, where she spoke at a fund-raising dinner and participated in a
dialogue on electoral reforms. She followed that up with a highly
successful speaking tour of Australia. And then she went on to Europe.
FMT writer Celine Boileau caught up with her in Geneva and filed for FMT the following transcript of their interview.How do you explain the success of Bersih in Malaysia?
Firstly, Bersih’s cause for free and fair elections was a cause that
was noble, easily understood and one that cut across racial, religious,
gender and other divides in Malaysia.
Secondly, it was timely. The social and political conditions in
Malaysia are now such that Malaysians want a more participative
democracy, a system of good governance and the ability to exercise basic
social rights.
Thirdly, this was a civil society initiative. It was not politically
driven. As a result, it could not be easily brushed off as a mere
political ploy, although attempts were made to do so.
The remarkably disproportionate response by the government to Bersih 2.0 was also a major contributing factor.
Therefore, although Bersih 2.0 started as a movement for free and
fair elections, on July 9, it was about much more. It was about
democracy and the public’s disgust against abuse of power.What is the possibility of Bersih holding another rally in KL
if electoral reforms are not made in time for the next general
election?
There is of course the possibility of another rally if we are robbed
of the reforms promised before the 13th general election. I believe
people will be very disappointed if the government rushes for the
election without meeting the demands of Bersih 2.0. They will feel
cheated.How did Bersih 2.0 become a global movement?
I believe that the cause that Bersih is promoting is appealing and
supported by all Malaysians wherever they may be. The cause is also
universal. The need for free and fair elections is a basic tenet in any
democracy. Admittedly, it resonates more in developing democracies.
Much of the support comes from Malaysians living or studying abroad.
Many of them have been exposed to how meaningful democracies actually
function and are concerned with the repressive politics practised in
Malaysia. On July 9, the rally for free and fair elections took place in
32 other cities worldwide besides Kuala Lumpur.
We must commend Bersih 2.0 supporters overseas for organising
themselves. Bersih 2.0 in Malaysia did not organise them. They took the
initiative to do so and we now have a vibrant global Bersih Network.

Overseas, the media refer to Bersih as movement from the opposition. Do you agree with this interpretation?
I do not believe that is accurate.
Bersih 2.0 is led by a steering committee that does not include any
political party leaders. It is wholly a civil society initiative.
The first Bersih movement (in 2007) was initiated and led by many
opposition party leaders together with civil society organisations. We
decided to revive it—because the agenda for free and fair elections is
still relevant and important—we also decided that Bersih 2.0 would be
entirely a civil society movement.
Nonetheless, Bersih 2.0 does receive the support of the opposition
parties in Malaysia, as they believe they are severely handicapped in
the manner in which elections are run.
However, Bersih 2.0 has always sent invitations to all political
parties, including the government parties, to all its functions. The
government parties have never responded positively to any of these
invitations.It has been reported that with Bersih, Malaysians have, for
the first time, come together to support a single cause. Do you see
Bersih as game changing for Malaysia’s national identity?
I believe Bersih is game changing for Malaysian national identity.
The overwhelming support for our cause shows that ordinary Malaysians do
not want to be divided. Malaysians are no longer content to allow
themselves to be identified and segregated according to issues based on
race and religion.
The July rally has done wonders for the psyche of the citizens. They
overcame many fears when they stood together that day. One of the main
fears they overcame was the fear of a repeat of the racial riots of May
13, 1969.The French newspaper Le Monde recently compared you to Aung San Suu Kyi. Is she a model for you?
I am very humbled and flattered by this comparison. She is certainly
inspiring and a role model for me. But I do not believe I am deserving
of the comparison. She is an icon who has suffered much more, been
through much more and stood up to much more than I have ever had to.Aung San Suu Kyi is now officially taking a political role. Is this something you’re considering?
I am not a member of any political party. Nor do I have any political
aspirations. I have been painted as an opposition leader simply because
it was an easy way of attacking the credibility of Bersih 2.0 and its
leaders.You recently compared Burma to Malaysia in your criticism of the Peaceful Assembly Bill. Does the comparison stop there?
It was in the context of Burma’s human rights record that I made the
comment that even in a country like Burma, the peaceful assembly law
appeared less oppressive. This was after I had read reports about their
law, which they had coincidentally just passed.
There is no doubt that Burma’s human rights record is much worse than
Malaysia. However, like Burma, we still do not have a meaningful system
of checks and balances in Malaysia. Nor we do we enjoy a system of good
governance.

KUALA
LUMPUR: The Malaysian Indian Telecommunication Contractors Association
(MITCA) has decided to seek Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s help to
stop the alleged sidelining of its members by Telekom Malaysia (TM).

MITCA president L Puganesvaran told FMT that TM had not entertained
any request made by Indian contractors in the last 20 years, and the
association was seeking redress by banking on Najib’s promise of
fairness to all Malaysians.

He said Najib could prove his sincerity by pressuring TM to stop the discrimination.

“There is no point talking about the 1Malaysia policy if giant
companies like TM don’t support it,” he said. “We hope Najib will cater
to the plight of MITCA.”

Puganesvaran said MITCA’s members were especially keen to take part
in the national High Speed Broadband (HSBB) project that TM is
spearheading, but added that the government-linked company had virtually
ignored Indian contractors. “Are Indian companies not good enough for
the HSBB projects?”

According to him, TM last year awarded RM1.18 billion worth of
contracts to four foreign companies and RM600 million worth to 200
bumiputra companies.

For the past three days consecutively, the Barisan Nasiona-controlled media have degenerated further to become “blackout papers”, over three episodes, viz:

Firstly, over the call on Tuesday by 17 international and national environmental groups and activists, including Greenpeace and Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund, addressed to the Attorney-General, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency Chief Commissioner and the Inspector-General of Police for the arrest and criminal prosecution of Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his 13 family members for massive graft and plundering of Sarawak’s rich natural resources;

Secondly, the Penang High Court judgment on Wednesday against Utusan Malaysia for defamation against Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for its article “Kebiadaban Lim Guan Eng” of 20th December 2010, and the High Court award of RM200,000 for general and aggravated damages and RM25,000 for costs against Utusan; and

Thirdly, the release yesterday of the latest report by Washington-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) that Malaysia has maintained its position as one of the top five countries in the world suffering the highest illicit capital outflow in the past decade, 2000-2009, involving over RM1 trillion (US$338 billion or RM1,077 billion) as a result of corruption and misgovernance!

Apart from one small inconsequential paragraph about the Utusan judgment, there have been total blackout of these three developments in the Barisan-controlled “mainstream media”.

Recently, coinciding with the UMNO General Assembly, Malaysia suffered its worst international report card for anti-corruption when the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011 gave the country its worst ranking in 17 years as well as the lowest-ever CPI score – placed No. 60 when Malaysia was ranked No. 23 in 1995 with a score of 4.3 when Malaysia scored 5.32 in 1996.

With the egregious “blackout” of unfavourable news by Barisan Nasional mainstream media as happened blatantly in the past three days, Malaysia’s press freedom index is set to nosedive further in future – as if Malaysia’s press freedom index is not bad enough.

In conjunction with the World Press Freedom Day in May this year, Malaysia was ranked 143 out of 196 countries in terms of press freedom, categorised as “not free”, in the Freedom of the Press Survey 2011 by US-based Freedom House.

After the “black eyes” by Transparency International and Financial Global Integrity, and the bulldozing of the undemocratic and repressive Peaceful Assembly Bill in Parliament, Malaysians must be prepared to suffer more “black eyes” by other international watchdogs for freedom, integrity and good governance in the coming year.

JAG said it
is ‘a giant leap for gender equality’. In a first-of-its-kind decision
in Malaysia, the High Court held that pregnancy as a reason not to
employ a woman is a form of gender discrimination, and therefore
unconstitutional under Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.

The well-written Grounds of Judgment delivered
by Zaleha Yusof J. sitting at the Shah Alam High Court has just been
made available. It is a refreshing read – combining international human
rights law (particularly CEDAW), and our own Federal Constitution, to
support (to our minds at least) a correct decision prohibiting gender
discrimination.

The
matter is being appealed by the Government, and we await the hearing
date of the appeal. Fingers crossed, the Court of Appeal will uphold
this brilliant pro-human rights decision.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun
Razak announced an allocation of RM5 million for the publication of
books on original work by young writers through the Malaysian Institute
of Translation and Books (ITBM).

The allocation would be channeled in stages over a two-year period to
ensure the production of original works from writers besides functioning
as a lead agency in the field of translation, he said.

"This involved a rebranding of the institute to ITBM from its original
name. The government is confident ITBM will manage the funds allocated
to ensure the original work of writers can be published within three to
six months.

"I am also announcing that Percetakan Nasional Berhad has agreed to form
a strategic alliance with ITBM and the Malaysian National Writers
Association (PENA) towards the success of this effort," he said when
speaking at the opening of PENA's Golden Jubilee 50 years celebration
here Friday night.

At the ceremony, Najib also announced an allocation of RM1 million to renovate Rumah PENA.

The Prime Minister said the role of writers was important in the
realization of the government to transform the country into an advanced
and high income nation by 2020 as the progress was not measured in
material gain alone.

"Achievements in thinking, literature and culture are equally important as a measure of progress for the individual.

"It is also true that the struggle of our political forefathers was
inspired and aroused by the writings of our writers in the past," he
said.

The MIC deputy president also hoped the withdrawal of the
novel, authored by national laureate Abdullah Hussain (middle in photo), would be accepted by all quarters and end the controversy.

"The minister of education has agreed not to use this book from next
year and I hope his announcement will prevent further acrimony over
words deemed sensitive used in the novel," he was quoted as saying in
Ayer Keroh today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments from Malaysiakini

Anti-TokKok
Is this lame-duck MIC president qualified to speak for INDIANS in
general? And why should the Indian community be grateful for this
bare-faced racism? Sometimes, I wonder what this world is coming to.....
Such disgusting, repulsive and arrogant racists who dare to imagine
themselves as so-called "top" national leaders of this blighted country.

Freemsia
Whoa,.... good things surely can be seen when election is coming. To
all my Indian friends, do make sure to go home and tell your parents
that all of this has nothing to do with taking care of the feeling of
the Indians and has EVERYTHING to do to make Indians feel good and vote
for BN.

Anonymous_4182
Teaching our school children, the future leaders of Malaysia the truth
and nothing but the truth on history of this country seems so sensitive
by politician. These young minds are going to grow up to find out they
have been duped by irresponsible politicians who care not for real
knowledge, but been fed fabled tales of the history of their country.
What sort of leaders do we have? They called themselves desperately
champion of the people. Patriots!

Malaysian Born
This should have been done a long time ago, there was no need for all
the delays. It was clear as day to any literate, decent person with any
breeding that the references in the book were unacceptable. Once the
issue was brought up it should have been dealt with imediately by
removing it from the curriculum. There is nothing wrong with the book
being available as literature in librarys but for it to be part of the
official curriculum basically meant that the government is in agreement
with the sentiments expressed since there are direct references in the
local context, this cannot be. So much goodwill and credibility was lost
by all this back and forth and silly excuses. I dont think anyone is
impressed at this point but I feel that one must always be appreciative
of any correct and righteous decisions by the government.

Zz2XX
Palanivel, why on earth should the Indian community be grateful for the
decision? It took umNO one whole year to decide on the matter. At
almost the eve of GE13, umNO finally decided to withdraw the book just
make it look good. Damn hypocrites.

AnSoN
mooheeedeeen lost his water face and all those defenders of the so
called novel???? where is your pride????? fight lah and defend for it
not to be withdrawn. hei hei hei, if I am an Indian, I will tell ya, go
fly kite, I don't give a damn if you withdraw or now later or before,
shit damage is done and I will be plain stupid to be taken into believe
the bloody gomen's sincerirty. fark you moooooheeeeedeeeeen and the
bloody gomen.

Anonymous_ABG
One ass said that Indians came here as beggers then a text book comes
out stating Indians (Tamils)are pariahs - which definitely embraces the
Mentri Besar of Perak - and now we are told the Interlok book which
generously says Tamil Indians are pariahs is being withdrawn. The truth
is yet to be confrmed by the Education Minister.
The timing is such that UMNO has thrown a sucked-up bone to the MIC for
election support - will the Tamils support BN?.The fact that
Nallakaruppan of a rival Indian party which is not in the BN family is
an insult to MIC.
MIC has lost its respect - its best for MIC to withdraw from BN.ABG

Malaysian53
The only consideration is GE13 period! Enough lah MIC chief. This is
long overdue and there is nothing to thank about. First a racist fiction
is used as a history book in secondary schools! After all the
reluctance to change, all of a sudden there can be a reversal. Don't the
Indians have half a brain to ask? On top of everything, we need a
mandore, Palanival to thank the biggest racist of all, Muhyiddin. I
sincerely hope the Indians will use their common sense at GE13. Unless
the Indians want another 50 years of marginalisation from Govt, schools,
universities etc.

Alan Goh
The Interlok is withdrawn from secondary school syllabus
is not because of MIC lah but to pull wool over the Indian
voters eyes due to the coming 13th General Election..
It is just like the BR1M where RM500-00 is given to every
house-hold whose annual income is less than RM3000/-.
Why is it only after 54 yrs under the corrupted UMNO/BN is the
Government that generous with tax-payers money.Use your head lah and do
not fall for the 1Malaysia PM ruse.
Rational and Bersih voters should just take the BR1M
RM500-00 which rightly belongs to them and continue to vote for for a
change of Government that is Bersih and accountable to the Rakyat.After
all,what is the BR1M RM500/-one-off payment to the poor rakyat as
compared to the RM250 million loan given to NFC just for Ternakan
Lembu.Use your head,boy!!!

Dr Suresh Kumar
Credit should go to the 54 Hindraf activists who took part in the
anti-Interlok protest and also to Saudara Thasleem Mohammad of NIAT for
their relentless campaign against a school book which makes a
hypocritical mockery of Najib's so-called 1MALAYSIA. Following this
decision by the government, the case against the Hindraf 54 who are
staring at a three-year jail term for speaking up against a book which
promotes racism in schools should be dropped immediately. If more
serious charges against the PSM 6 and the Bersih 2.0 activists could be
dropped, civil society must also demand that the ridiculous charges
against the Hindraf 54 be also dropped. The incapacitated MIC numbskull
should fight for the 54 instead of claiming credit for the hard work and
sufferings of others.

Observer of Johor
"The decision was made after taking many factors into consideration.
The Indian community is grateful for the decision," said Palanivel. Our
Indian friends, don't be too happy, the Government took one year to come
to this decision. After GE 13, if BN garnered the majority, everything
might be reversed, you know the Flip Flop ..

Astraltroubleshooter
Apple polisher and desperadoes are at work to get the Indians votes.
The Malaysians Voters say "Balls to You - the UMNO-BN Regime" The
Racism nurtured by the UMNO-BN for the last 54 years is dead. It is
finished and will be buried in the same coffin with UMNO at the 13th GE
to be held in January (very likely) after the 9th when the future Prime
Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim is put off. GET IT STRAIGHT, WE THE
MALAYSIAN RAKYAT ARE DETERMINED TO REMOVE THE CORRUPT REGIME.

crony
a single individual being called metallic black , demand for apology
...a whole community being called pariah and intended to be used as
education material...now withdraw , no need for apology , instead the
indian chief says grateful to the ones who called them pariah ...now ,
the whole community will happily vote for BN .....where else can this
happen but only in BN Malaysia...Malaysia Bolih

Lone_star
The gratittude game continues. The Bn gomen is going to demand the
Indian community to express its gratitude for this magnanimous
withdrawal of Interlok. Hopefully, the community can remember how long
drawn out the fight was to get the said book withdrawn in the first
place. Please, also do remember who started the controversy. The
MINIster of Education is suddenly so very bisu.

Makcik Har
Those people in the Education Ministry and UMNO Gomen cabinet are real
dunggus ! Everybody was saying the novel should be withdrawn from day 1.
Instead they form this committee that committee to study this and that.
All makan gaji buta ! So much angst was caused. Now after 1 year , they
decide to withdraw it. Real Dunggus !

Onyourtoes
Why the proud Minister for Education did not announce this news? Has it
ever occurred to you, Palanivel and Subra, this very act is a sign of
arrogance - that he has no respect for the Indian community. Pariah in
Interlok is one thing and being treated like one is another.

Gandhi
Candy to the gullible Indians. MIC, don't you fellows think that you
worked for it. Hindraf, the active movement and other passive groups
played a big role in opposing this novel. Credit goes to these people
and NOT MIC.

Anticommunalist
First you introduce a racist syllabus. Then you withdraw it after the
damage is already done. Then MIC beats the drums and go all over the
village proclaiming UMNO is great. Is this a circus govt or what ?

ksn
What are the factors that the Education Minister took into account,
Acting MIC boss? GE is around the corner,right? Did not the Education
Minister categorically refuse to withdraw the infamous book after many
attempts by MIC, NGOs and even the panel set up to study the book which
recommended it's withdrawal? If for this silly withdrawal, if the
Indians vote for UMNOBNMIC, they fully deserve the marginalization, the
neglect, insults, abuses suffered by them, all with the compliments of
UMNO, MIC, Mahathir and Samy, for more than 30 years, bringing them to
their present state of shame- orphans in prosperous Malaysia. Do not
forget Indians that you and your forefathers played a critical role
towards this prosperity which the Malays benefited immensely from,
enjoying it thoroughly. They can insult, humiliate, marginalize the
Indians but no one should forget that the Indians in Malaysia and
elsewhere are the descendants of a great culture and civilization.Think
about it Indians,others.

malaysianstudent
as usual, this is used as a tool for MIC to get back indian voters. why
didnt the minister of education announce it? since this was pertaining
to school syllabus. stupid political gimmick to potray MIC as champions
of interlok issue.